2010-11 President's Report

MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT
Dear Friends,
As I write this report, Marymount Manhattan has begun celebrating a major milestone, the
75th anniversary of its founding in 1936. Established while the country was in the throes of the Great
Depression, our school has faced challenges throughout its history and thrived. The reasons for our success
are clear: the commitment and generosity of our alumni, trustees, students’ parents and other friends, as well
as the dedication of our faculty members to their students and the diligent work of our staff. Without the
many contributions of all of these people, Marymount Manhattan would not have been able to become
what it is today, a diverse and dynamic institution.
In 2005, your support of Marymount Manhattan’s mission emboldened us to launch This is the Day, the most ambitious
fundraising campaign in the College’s history. When the campaign ended on December 31, 2010, your contributions surpassed
our $25 million goal by raising a total of $37 million in gifts and pledges. This campaign has enabled Marymount Manhattan
to take critical steps outlined in our current strategic plan, Extending Our Reach, for improving academic quality, enhancing the
learning environment, and making a Marymount Manhattan education of growing excellence more affordable by increasing
need-based financial aid. The College community’s generosity is overwhelming and humbling.
As a result of your support, our school has been energized, and our campus has been transformed. We have continued to
hire outstanding new faculty members and to increase the number of full-time faculty. We also named four Distinguished
Chairs, each of whom received time and financial resources to complete a major scholarly work. In addition, we reduced
the annual teaching load for faculty members from eight to seven courses to increase faculty and student interaction. If you
have recently visited our campus, you know that your support has also enabled us to make significant improvements to our
environment, such as the beautiful Lowerre Family Terrace, the adjacent Commons, the Dow Zanghi Student Health Center,
renovation of the Thomas J. Shanahan Library and the Chapel, and other projects. The College also continues to make
progress with the townhouse we acquired a few doors down the block at 255 East 71st Street, which we will completely
renovate to provide additional office space for our faculty.
Finally, this report would be incomplete without mentioning the focus of all of our efforts, namely our students, many of whom
would not have been able to attend Marymount Manhattan without your generosity. While Marymount Manhattan’s tuition is
significantly less than the average tuition of other private colleges, it remains beyond the reach of many families, even more so
in these uncertain and difficult economic times. During the past few years, your support has enabled us to increase need-based
financial aid by 50 percent. The increased availability of financial aid, enhanced academic quality to pursue studies in 18 majors and
39 minors, and ongoing physical improvements to our campus have attracted students from 48 states and 54 countries.
The driving force behind all of our efforts has been our mission to prepare students for life and careers through an enriched
and challenging learning experience that is international in focus, interdisciplinary in method, and experiential in practice.
In this report, you will read how we continue to advance the College’s mission, from its origins when it was founded 75 years
ago by the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary (p. 4) to become the diverse, international campus that we are today (p. 5).
You will also read how the College is working to strengthen students’ leadership skills (p. 9) and to enhance their undergraduate
experiences (p. 11). Marymount Manhattan’s Bedford Hills College Program exemplifies our core mission to help even the
most disadvantaged to improve their lives through access to higher education (p. 12). Exciting initiatives are being undertaken at
the Geraldine Ferraro Center for Education Excellence in Science, Technology and Mathematics (p. 15). We also introduce you
to our new faculty members (p. 21), describe the scholarly work being undertaken by our four Distinguished Chairs (p. 23),
and provide examples of service learning projects undertaken by Marymount Manhattan students (p. 24).
On behalf of all of us at Marymount Manhattan, and especially our students, thank you for your support of our College.
Best wishes,
Chris Taggart
Judson R. Shaver, Ph.D.
President
1 Marymount Manhattan College President’s Report